Demographics of Pakistan | |
---|---|
Population | 241,492,197 (2023 census) |
Density | 260.8/km2 (675/sq mi) 248.9/km2 (645/sq mi) (including AJK and GB) |
Growth rate | 1.85% (2021 est.) [1] |
Birth rate | 22.5 births / 1,000 population (2023 est.) |
Death rate | 7.2 deaths / 1,000 population (2021 est.) [1] |
Life expectancy | 69.1 years (2022 est.) [1] |
• male | 66.8 years (2022 est.) [1] |
• female | 71.6 years (2022 est.) [1] |
Fertility rate | 3.47 children born / woman (2021 est.) [1] |
Net migration rate | −2.0 migrants / 1,000 population (2021 est.) [1] |
Age structure | |
0–14 years | 40.3% (2017) [2] |
15–64 years | 56.0% (2017) [2] |
65 and over | 3.7% (2017) [2] |
Nationality | |
Nationality | noun: Pakistani |
Major ethnic | See Ethnic groups of Pakistan |
Language | |
Spoken | See Languages of Pakistan |
Pakistan had a population of 241,492,197 according to the final results of the 2023 Census. [3] [4] [5] This figure includes Pakistan's four provinces e.g. Punjab, Sindh, KPK, Balochistan and Islamabad Capital Territory. AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan's census data is yet to be approved by CCI Council of Pakistan. Pakistan is the world's fifth most populous country. [6]
Between 1951 and 2017, Pakistan's population expanded over sixfold, going from 33.7 million to 207.7 million. The country has a relatively high, although declining, growth rate supported by high birth rates and low death rates. Between 1998 and 2017, the average annual population growth rate stood at +2.40%.
Dramatic social changes have led to urbanization and the emergence of two megacities: Karachi and Lahore. The country's urban population more than tripled between 1981 and 2017 (from 23.8 million to 75.7 million), as Pakistan's urbanisation rate rose from 28.2% to 36.4%. Even with this, the nation's urbanisation rate remains one of the lowest in the world, and in 2017, over 130 million Pakistanis (making up nearly 65% of the population) lived in rural areas.
Due to a high fertility rate, which was estimated at 3.5 in 2022, Pakistan has one of the world's youngest populations. The 2017 census recorded that 40.3% of the country's population was under the age of 15, while only 3.7% of Pakistanis were aged 65 or more. [2] The median age of the country was 19, [2] while its sex ratio was recorded to be 105 males per 100 females. [3]
The demographic history of Pakistan from the ancient Indus Valley civilization to the modern era includes the arrival and settlement of many cultures and ethnic groups in the modern region of Pakistan from Eurasia and the nearby Middle East. Because of this, Pakistan has a multicultural, multilinguistic, and multiethnic society. Despite Urdu being Pakistan's lingua franca, estimates on how many languages are spoken in the country range from 75 to 85, [7] [8] and in 2017, the country's three largest ethnolinguistic groups were the Punjabis (making up 38.8% of the total population), the Pashtuns (18.2%), and the Sindhis (14.6%). [9] Pakistan is also thought to have the world's fourth-largest refugee population, estimated at 1.4 million in mid-2021 by the UNHCR. [10]
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1951 | 33,740,167 | — |
1961 | 42,880,378 | +2.43% |
1972 | 65,309,340 | +3.90% |
1981 | 84,253,644 | +2.87% |
1998 | 132,352,279 | +2.69% |
2017 | 207,684,626 | +2.40% |
2023 | 241,492,917 | +2.55% |
Source: [3] [11] |
The 2017 census recorded a population of 207,684,626 living in Pakistan's four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory. [3] The census also reported that Azad Kashmir's population stood at 4,045,367 [4] and Gilgit-Baltistan's population was 1,492,924. [5] This meant that the total population of Pakistan in 2017 was 213,222,917.
The statistics in the graphs below were created by the United Nations in July 2022, [6] and are covered in more detail in the following section. This data includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.For years, the country with a population exceeding 230 million has been grappling to achieve economic stability. The people of Pakistan are living in a precarious situation, with an uncertain future in the country. [12]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
In July 2022, the United Nations published its 2022 World Population Prospects, a bi annually-updated database where key demographic indicators are estimated and projected worldwide down to the country level. They prepared estimates of Pakistan's population for every year from 1950 to 2021, as well as projections for future decades. [6] This data includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Projections are highlighted in light yellow, and future figures are taken from the medium fertility variant.
Year | Population | % Population aged 0 to 14 | % Population aged 15 to 64 | % Population aged 65 or more |
---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | 37,696,264 | 40.5% | 54.0% | 5.5% |
1955 | 40.3% | 55.3% | 4.4% | |
1960 | 45,954,226 | 40.6% | 55.6% | 3.7% |
1965 | 51,841,626 | 42.3% | 54.4% | 3.4% |
1970 | 59,290,872 | 43.7% | 53.0% | 3.3% |
1975 | 68,126,999 | 43.9% | 52.8% | 3.4% |
1980 | 80,624,057 | 43.0% | 53.5% | 3.4% |
1985 | 97,121,552 | 43.0% | 53.5% | 3.5% |
1990 | 115,414,069 | 43.7% | 52.8% | 3.5% |
1995 | 133,117,476 | 44.4% | 52.1% | 3.5% |
2000 | 154,369,924 | 42.9% | 53.6% | 3.5% |
2005 | 174,372,098 | 41.1% | 55.4% | 3.5% |
2010 | 194,454,498 | 39.2% | 57.0% | 3.7% |
2015 | 210,969,298 | 38.4% | 57.7% | 3.9% |
2020 | 227,196,741 | 37.3% | 58.6% | 4.2% |
2025 | 249,948,885 | 35.3% | 60.2% | 4.5% |
2030 | 274,029,836 | 33.2% | 61.9% | 4.9% |
2035 | 298,432,780 | 31.7% | 63.1% | 5.2% |
2040 | 322,595,767 | 29.5% | 64.8% | 5.7% |
2045 | 345,818,945 | 28.1% | 65.8% | 6.2% |
2050 | 367,808,468 | 26.6% | 66.5% | 6.9% |
The table below shows Pakistan's population structure by five-year age group and sex using data from the 2017 census. [2] The country's population structure is relatively young, with a median age of 19. With low death rates and a declining birth rate, the country is in the third stage of its Demographic transition. In 2017, Pakistan's sex ratio stood at 105 males per 100 females, [3] which is much more balanced than South Asia as a whole.
The statistics below do not contain Azad Kashmir or Gilgit-Baltistan, which disseminate their census data separately from Pakistan's four provinces and Islamabad.
Age Group | Male | Female | Total | Sex ratio | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 106,318,22 | 101,344,632 | 207,684,626 | 104.9 | 100.0% |
0 – 4 | 14,944,124 | 14,218,866 | 29,162,990 | 105.1 | 14.0% |
5 – 9 | 15,642,725 | 14,383,593 | 30,026,318 | 108.8 | 14.5% |
10 – 14 | 12,946,871 | 11,580,317 | 24,527,188 | 111.8 | 11.8% |
15 – 19 | 11,095,138 | 10,269,213 | 21,366,618 | 108.0 | 10.3% |
20 – 24 | 9,245,010 | 9,247,936 | 18,495,895 | 100.0 | 8.9% |
25 – 29 | 7,936,382 | 8,461,628 | 16,401,132 | 93.8 | 7.9% |
30 – 34 | 6,945,532 | 7,203,496 | 14,151,748 | 96.4 | 6.8% |
35 – 39 | 6,088,144 | 5,958,164 | 12,048,811 | 102.2 | 5.8% |
40 – 44 | 4,847,522 | 4,777,667 | 9,627,067 | 101.5 | 4.6% |
45 – 49 | 4,060,698 | 3,869,277 | 7,931,616 | 104.9 | 3.8% |
50 – 54 | 3,643,706 | 3,300,645 | 6,945,580 | 110.4 | 3.3% |
55 – 59 | 2,647,127 | 2,326,991 | 4,974,986 | 113.8 | 2.4% |
60 – 64 | 2,247,341 | 2,063,695 | 4,311,861 | 108.9 | 2.1% |
65 – 69 | 1,557,733 | 1,393,718 | 2,952,013 | 111.8 | 1.4% |
70 – 74 | 1,131,916 | 1,001,805 | 2,134,220 | 113.0 | 1.0% |
75 or more | 1,338,251 | 1,287,621 | 2,626,523 | 103.9 | 1.26% |
Age Group | Male | Female | Total | Sex ratio | Percent |
0 – 14 | 43,533,720 | 40,182,776 | 83 716 496 | 108.3 | 40.3% |
15 – 64 | 58,778,374 | 57,478,712 | 116,257,086 | 102.3 | 56.0% |
65+ | 4,027,900 | 3,683,144 | 7,711,044 | 109.4 | 3.7% |
Pakistan's population is distributed unevenly, with over half of the country's people living in the Punjab province. On the other hand, Balochistan, which is geographically Pakistan's largest province, is its least-populated. The population is mainly clustered around the most agriculturally fertile areas, particularly the Indus River and its tributaries. Most of the country's people live in rural areas, but two large and growing megacities exist: the coastal Karachi and Lahore in eastern Punjab. Numerous smaller cities (such as Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, and the capital Islamabad) dot the rest of the country.
The table below shows Pakistan's provinces and territories by their historical population. While every one of Pakistan's administrative units currently has a growing population, the pace of growth is uneven throughout the country due to differing levels of fertility, mortality, as well as domestic and international migration. Populations pertaining to the modern borders of provinces are shown.
Province or Territory | 1951 [11] | 1961 [11] | 1972 [11] | 1981 [11] | 1998 [11] | 2017 [3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Punjab | 20,540,762 | 25,463,974 | 37,607,423 | 47,292,441 | 73,691,290 | 109,989,655 |
Sindh | 6,047,748 | 8,367,065 | 14,155,909 | 19,028,666 | 30,439,893 | 47,854,510 |
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 5,888,550 | 7,578,186 | 10,879,781 | 13,259,875 | 20,919,976 | 35,501,964 |
Balochistan | 1,167,167 | 1,353,484 | 2,428,678 | 4,332,376 | 6,565,885 | 12,335,129 |
ICT | — | 117,669 | 237,549 | 340,286 | 805,235 | 2,003,368 |
Four Provinces and ICT | 33,740,167 | 42,880,378 | 65,309,340 | 84,253,644 | 132,352,279 | 207,684,626 |
Azad Kashmir [4] | 886,000 | 1,065,000 | 1,573,000 | 1,983,465 | 2,972,501 | 4,045,367 |
Gilgit-Baltistan [5] | — | — | — | — | 884,000 | 1,492,924 |
Total Pakistan | — | — | — | — | 136,208,780 | 213,222,917 |
The following table shows how Pakistan has urbanised. As is true with population growth, urbanisation is an uneven and nonlinear process. With an urbanisation rate of 51.9% as of 2017, Sindh is the country's most urbanised province, and is even more urban than Islamabad Capital Territory. This is largely fuelled by the growth of Karachi, which economically dominates the province and attracts migrants from the rest of the country. On the other hand, the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan both share very low urbanisation rates of 16.5%.
Province or Territory | 1951 [11] | 1961 [11] | 1972 [11] | 1981 [11] | 1998 [11] | 2017 [3] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Punjab | 17.3% | 21.5% | 24.4% | 27.6% | 31.3% | 36.9% |
Sindh | 29.2% | 37.9% | 40.4% | 43.3% | 48.8% | 51.9% |
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 8.6% | 10.3% | 11.1% | 12.6% | 14.3% | 16.5% |
Balochistan | 12.4% | 16.9% | 16.5% | 15.6% | 23.9% | 27.6% |
ICT | 0.0% | 0.0% | 32.3% | 60.1% | 65.7% | 50.4% |
Four Provinces and ICT | 17.7% | 22.5% | 25.4% | 28.3% | 32.5% | 36.4% |
Azad Kashmir [4] | — | — | — | 8.1% | 12.5% | 17.4% |
Gilgit-Baltistan [5] | — | — | — | — | 16.8% | 16.5% |
ICT | 0.0% | 0.0% | 32.3% | 60.1% | 65.7% | 50.4% |
As urbanisation has progressed and owing to the country's large population, Pakistan today has many very large urban centers which act as hubs for commerce and culture. The nation has two megacities, Karachi and Lahore. With populations of 14.9 million and 11.1 million respectively (in 2017), they are among the world's largest metropolises. The country also has seven more cities with more than 1 million residents each: Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Peshawar, Multan, Hyderabad, and Islamabad. All of them play a significant role in the country, housing nearly 14 million people altogether. Aside from these, there are 103 more cities in the country with populations of at least 100,000.
Below a list showing Pakistan's twenty largest cities as of the 2017 census can be found, which not only shows the current populations of the cities, but also their growth rates and locations. The full list can be found on the main article: List of cities in Pakistan by population.
All city population figures below include adjacent cantonments.
City Name | Province or Territory | 2017 Population [13] | 1998 Population [11] | Avg. Annual Growth Rate |
---|---|---|---|---|
Karachi | Sindh | 14,884,402 | 9,339,023 | 2.48% |
Lahore | Punjab | 11,119,985 | 5,209,088 | 4.06% |
Faisalabad | Punjab | 3,210,158 | 2,008,861 | 2.49% |
Rawalpindi | Punjab | 2,097,824 | 1,409,768 | 2.11% |
Gujranwala | Punjab | 2,028,421 | 1,132,509 | 3.11% |
Peshawar | KPK | 1,969,823 | 982,816 | 3.72% |
Multan | Punjab | 1,872,641 | 1,197,384 | 2.38% |
Hyderabad | Sindh | 1,733,622 | 1,166,894 | 2.10% |
Islamabad | ICT | 1,009,003 | 529,180 | 3.45% |
Quetta | Balochistan | 999,385 | 565,137 | 3.04% |
Bahawalpur | Punjab | 762,774 | 408,395 | 3.34% |
Sargodha | Punjab | 658,208 | 458,440 | 1.92% |
Sialkot | Punjab | 656,730 | 421,502 | 2.36% |
Sukkur | Sindh | 500,401 | 335,551 | 2.12% |
Larkana | Sindh | 488,006 | 270,283 | 3.15% |
Sheikhupura | Punjab | 472,269 | 280,263 | 2.79% |
Rahim Yar Khan | Punjab | 420,963 | 233,537 | 3.14% |
Jhang | Punjab | 414,309 | 293,366 | 1.83% |
Dera Ghazi Khan | Punjab | 397,362 | 190,542 | 3.94% |
Gujrat | Punjab | 390,758 | 251,792 | 2.34% |
As Pakistan lacks a national vital statistics system that publicly disseminates data, all of the following information is made from estimates, which are constantly being revised. The United Nations estimated that in February 2021, only 42% of births in Pakistan were officially registered, making it the world's most populous country where more than half of births remained unregistered. [14] The United Nations was unable to estimate how many deaths were officially registered. [14]
Surveys taken by the Pakistani government or intergovernmental organisations are seen as the most reliable method of keeping tabs on birth, death, fertility, and infant mortality rates in a country without a reliable vital registration system. The data recorded in these surveys is used by the United Nations in order to estimate historical and future fertility and mortality figures for Pakistan in the World Population Prospects. [15]
Survey | Crude birth rate | Crude death rate | Infant mortality rate | Total fertility rate | Life expectancy | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Urban | Rural | Total | Male | Female | ||||
DHS 2006–07 [16] | 30.7 | — | 78 | 3.30 | 4.49 | 4.08 | — | — |
PSLM 2007–08 [17] | — | — | 69 | 3.13 | 4.41 | 3.95 | — | — |
PSLM 2011–12 [18] | — | — | 63 | 3.26 | 4.35 | 3.95 | — | — |
DHS 2012–13 [19] | — | — | 74 | 3.16 | 4.20 | 3.84 | — | — |
PSLM 2013–14 [20] | — | — | 65 | 3.24 | 4.35 | 3.95 | — | — |
DHS 2017–18 [21] | 29 | — | 62 | 2.93 | 3.94 | 3.56 | — | — |
PSLM 2018–19 [22] | — | — | 60 | 3.01 | 4.21 | 3.75 | — | — |
PMMS 2019 [23] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 64.3 | 66.5 |
PDS 2020 [24] | 27 | 6.7 | 56 | 3.07 | 4.11 | 3.72 | 64.5 | 65.5 |
Many of the surveys above also recorded fertility rate data broken down by each of Pakistan's administrative units, while many more surveys have been taken explicitly focusing on a specific province or territory. The fertility rate data recorded in these surveys is displayed in the table below.
Survey | Punjab | Sindh | KPK | Balochistan | ICT | AJK | G-B | Pakistan |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DHS 2006–07 [16] | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.1 | — | — | — | 4.08 |
MICS Punjab 2011 [25] | 3.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
DHS 2012–13 [19] | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.0 | — | 3.8 | 3.84 |
MICS Punjab 2014 [26] | 3.5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
MICS Sindh 2014 [27] | — | 4.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
MICS KPK 2016–17 [28] | — | — | 4.0 | — | — | — | — | — |
MICS G-B 2016–17 [29] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4.6 | — |
DHS 2017–18 [21] | 3.4 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 3.56 |
MICS Punjab 2017–18 [30] | 3.7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
MICS Sindh 2018–19 [31] | — | 3.7 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
MICS KPK 2019 [32] | — | — | 4.0 | — | — | — | — | — |
MICS Balochistan 2019-20 [33] | — | — | — | 4.0 | — | — | — | — |
MICS AJK 2020–21 [34] | — | — | — | — | — | 3.4 | — | — |
The MICS surveys above also provide data on the district level, although they come with a far higher margin of error. This margin of error is lessened for larger districts from where larger sample sizes were utilised. In the chart below, the latest fertility rate data for each Pakistani district with a population of over 2 million as of the 2017 census can be found. Although the table is originally ranked by district population size, clicking the headers will allow the reader to sort the table.
District | Province | Total fertility rate | Margin of error | Year of survey | 2017 Population |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lahore | Punjab | 3.1 | ±0.2 | 2017–18 [30] | 11,119,985 |
Faisalabad | Punjab | 3.3 | ±0.2 | 2017–18 [30] | 7,882,444 |
Rawalpindi | Punjab | 3.2 | ±0.2 | 2017–18 [30] | 5,402,380 |
Gujranwala | Punjab | 3.4 | ±0.2 | 2017–18 [30] | 5,011,066 |
Rahim Yar Khan | Punjab | 4.6 | ±0.4 | 2017–18 [30] | 4,807,762 |
Multan | Punjab | 3.6 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 4,746,166 |
Peshawar | KPK | 4.0 | ±0.5 | 2019 [32] | 4,331,959 |
Muzaffargarh | Punjab | 4.7 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 4,328,549 |
Karachi West | Sindh | 2.2 | ±0.3 | 2018–19 [31] | 3,907,065 |
Sialkot | Punjab | 3.5 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 3,894,938 |
Sargodha | Punjab | 3.6 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 3,696,212 |
Bahawalpur | Punjab | 3.9 | ±0.4 | 2017–18 [30] | 3,669,176 |
Sheikhupura | Punjab | 3.7 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 3,460,004 |
Qasur | Punjab | 4.3 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 3,454,881 |
Okara | Punjab | 4.3 | ±0.4 | 2017–18 [30] | 3,040,826 |
Bahawalnagar | Punjab | 3.7 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,975,656 |
Karachi Central | Sindh | 2.2 | ±0.3 | 2018–19 [31] | 2,971,382 |
Khanewal | Punjab | 4.0 | ±0.4 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,920,233 |
Vehari | Punjab | 3.8 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,902,081 |
Karachi East | Sindh | 3.2 | ±0.4 | 2018–19 [31] | 2,875,315 |
Dera Ghazi Khan | Punjab | 5.4 | ±0.5 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,872,631 |
Gujrat | Punjab | 3.1 | ±0.2 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,756,289 |
Jhang | Punjab | 4.3 | ±0.4 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,742,633 |
Korangi | Sindh | 2.5 | ±0.3 | 2018–19 [31] | 2,577,556 |
Sahiwal | Punjab | 3.6 | ±0.4 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,513,011 |
Khairpur | Sindh | 4.8 | ±0.8 | 2018–19 [31] | 2,405,190 |
Mardan | KPK | 4.0 | ±0.3 | 2019 [32] | 2,373,399 |
Swat | KPK | 4.5 | ±0.5 | 2019 [32] | 2,308,624 |
Quetta | Balochistan | 4.7 | ±0.3 | 2019-20 [33] | 2,269,473 |
Hyderabad | Sindh | 3.0 | ±0.4 | 2018–19 [31] | 2,199,928 |
Toba Tek Singh | Punjab | 3.5 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [30] | 2,191,495 |
Sanghar | Sindh | 4.2 | ±0.4 | 2018–19 [31] | 2,049,873 |
Islamabad | ICT | 3.0 | ±0.3 | 2017–18 [21] | 2,003,368 |
In July 2022, the United Nations published its 2022 World Population Prospects, a biennially-updated database where key demographic indicators are estimated and projected worldwide down to the country level. They prepared the following estimates of demographic indicators in Pakistan for every year from 1950 to 2021, as well as projections for future decades. [6] This data includes Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Year | Mid-year population | Annual live births | Annual deaths | Annual natural increase | CBR | CDR | RNC | IMR | TFR | Life expectancy | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | Female | ||||||||||
1950 | 37,696,264 | 1,647,739 | 1,173,219 | 474,520 | 43.7 | 31.1 | 12.6 | 263.4 | 6.80 | 36.2 | 33.4 |
1951 | 38,215,785 | 1,686,378 | 1,121,858 | 564,520 | 44.1 | 29.4 | 14.8 | 252.9 | 6.80 | 37.5 | 34.6 |
1952 | 38,816,777 | 1,727,288 | 1,089,817 | 637,471 | 44.5 | 28.1 | 16.4 | 243.3 | 6.80 | 38.6 | 35.8 |
1953 | 39,488,228 | 1,768,524 | 1,063,098 | 705,426 | 44.8 | 26.9 | 17.9 | 234.1 | 6.80 | 39.8 | 36.9 |
1954 | 40,224,090 | 1,810,574 | 1,044,277 | 766,297 | 45.0 | 26.0 | 19.0 | 225.6 | 6.80 | 40.7 | 37.9 |
1955 | 41,023,128 | 1,853,944 | 1,022,153 | 831,791 | 45.2 | 24.9 | 20.3 | 217.4 | 6.80 | 41.8 | 39.0 |
1956 | 41,884,995 | 1,900,510 | 1,008,574 | 891,936 | 45.4 | 24.1 | 21.3 | 209.6 | 6.80 | 42.7 | 39.8 |
1957 | 42,808,511 | 1,948,801 | 993,703 | 955,098 | 45.5 | 23.2 | 22.3 | 202.2 | 6.80 | 43.7 | 40.7 |
1958 | 43,794,993 | 1,999,584 | 981,704 | 1,017,880 | 45.6 | 22.4 | 23.2 | 195.2 | 6.80 | 44.6 | 41.6 |
1959 | 44,843,639 | 2,049,555 | 970,149 | 1,079,406 | 45.7 | 21.6 | 24.1 | 188.7 | 6.80 | 45.5 | 42.5 |
1960 | 45,954,226 | 2,102,786 | 961,020 | 1,141,766 | 45.7 | 20.9 | 24.8 | 182.6 | 6.80 | 46.3 | 43.4 |
1961 | 47,060,915 | 2,157,005 | 951,411 | 1,205,594 | 45.8 | 20.2 | 25.6 | 176.7 | 6.80 | 47.2 | 44.2 |
1962 | 48,161,841 | 2,201,790 | 939,942 | 1,261,848 | 45.6 | 19.5 | 26.2 | 171.2 | 6.80 | 48.0 | 45.0 |
1963 | 49,325,050 | 2,247,761 | 922,383 | 1,325,378 | 45.5 | 18.7 | 26.8 | 166.0 | 6.80 | 48.8 | 46.3 |
1964 | 50,552,592 | 2,293,167 | 907,551 | 1,385,616 | 45.3 | 17.9 | 27.4 | 161.2 | 6.80 | 49.7 | 47.4 |
1965 | 51,841,626 | 2,340,733 | 897,333 | 1,443,400 | 45.1 | 17.3 | 27.8 | 157.5 | 6.80 | 50.3 | 48.5 |
1966 | 53,199,414 | 2,388,085 | 869,523 | 1,518,562 | 44.8 | 16.3 | 28.5 | 153.2 | 6.80 | 51.6 | 50.0 |
1967 | 54,629,793 | 2,438,389 | 854,112 | 1,584,277 | 44.6 | 15.6 | 29.0 | 149.9 | 6.80 | 52.6 | 51.2 |
1968 | 56,124,743 | 2,483,692 | 840,624 | 1,643,068 | 44.2 | 15.0 | 29.2 | 147.0 | 6.80 | 53.5 | 52.3 |
1969 | 57,676,805 | 2,524,648 | 831,202 | 1,693,446 | 43.7 | 14.4 | 29.3 | 144.5 | 6.80 | 54.2 | 53.3 |
1970 | 59,290,872 | 2,584,996 | 818,806 | 1,766,190 | 43.5 | 13.8 | 29.8 | 142.1 | 6.80 | 55.0 | 54.6 |
1971 | 60,878,781 | 2,648,206 | 985,142 | 1,663,064 | 43.4 | 16.2 | 27.3 | 145.5 | 6.80 | 49.0 | 52.2 |
1972 | 62,509,565 | 2,712,779 | 838,978 | 1,873,801 | 43.3 | 13.4 | 29.9 | 137.9 | 6.81 | 55.4 | 55.1 |
1973 | 64,285,624 | 2,785,335 | 852,459 | 1,932,876 | 43.3 | 13.2 | 30.0 | 136.0 | 6.81 | 55.5 | 55.5 |
1974 | 66,149,169 | 2,853,960 | 874,080 | 1,979,880 | 43.1 | 13.2 | 29.9 | 134.3 | 6.81 | 55.4 | 55.6 |
1975 | 68,126,999 | 2,931,237 | 882,423 | 2,048,814 | 43.0 | 13.0 | 30.1 | 132.5 | 6.81 | 55.8 | 56.2 |
1976 | 70,230,923 | 3,015,342 | 900,018 | 2,115,324 | 42.9 | 12.8 | 30.1 | 131.0 | 6.81 | 55.9 | 56.5 |
1977 | 72,451,105 | 3,116,181 | 922,294 | 2,193,887 | 43.0 | 12.7 | 30.3 | 129.6 | 6.80 | 55.8 | 56.9 |
1978 | 74,789,330 | 3,223,019 | 934,553 | 2,288,466 | 43.1 | 12.5 | 30.6 | 128.1 | 6.78 | 56.3 | 57.4 |
1979 | 77,407,341 | 3,337,688 | 950,235 | 2,387,453 | 43.2 | 12.3 | 30.9 | 126.6 | 6.76 | 56.5 | 58.1 |
1980 | 80,624,057 | 3,487,787 | 970,044 | 2,517,743 | 43.5 | 12.1 | 31.4 | 125.1 | 6.73 | 56.8 | 58.6 |
1981 | 84,270,202 | 3,700,274 | 1,001,060 | 2,699,214 | 44.2 | 11.9 | 32.2 | 123.6 | 6.70 | 57.1 | 59.3 |
1982 | 87,828,198 | 3,903,191 | 1,035,663 | 2,867,528 | 44.6 | 11.8 | 32.7 | 122.1 | 6.67 | 57.4 | 59.8 |
1983 | 91,080,372 | 4,067,866 | 1,057,064 | 3,010,802 | 44.7 | 11.6 | 33.1 | 120.5 | 6.64 | 57.7 | 60.5 |
1984 | 94,003,867 | 4,188,905 | 1,075,240 | 3,113,665 | 44.5 | 11.4 | 33.1 | 118.8 | 6.62 | 58.0 | 61.0 |
1985 | 97,121,552 | 4,291,612 | 1,100,992 | 3,190,620 | 44.2 | 11.4 | 32.9 | 117.0 | 6.59 | 58.5 | 60.4 |
1986 | 100,618,523 | 4,453,073 | 1,131,849 | 3,321,224 | 44.3 | 11.3 | 33.0 | 115.2 | 6.55 | 58.8 | 60.3 |
1987 | 104,251,093 | 4,602,418 | 1,185,062 | 3,417,356 | 44.2 | 11.4 | 32.8 | 113.3 | 6.52 | 58.5 | 59.8 |
1988 | 107,967,838 | 4,749,506 | 1,208,574 | 3,540,932 | 44.0 | 11.2 | 32.8 | 111.5 | 6.48 | 58.5 | 60.4 |
1989 | 111,670,386 | 4,877,528 | 1,229,672 | 3,647,856 | 43.7 | 11.0 | 32.7 | 109.6 | 6.43 | 58.7 | 60.7 |
1990 | 115,414,069 | 4,979,805 | 1,238,482 | 3,741,323 | 43.1 | 10.7 | 32.4 | 107.8 | 6.36 | 59.0 | 61.4 |
1991 | 119,203,569 | 5,070,548 | 1,256,930 | 3,813,618 | 42.5 | 10.5 | 32.0 | 105.9 | 6.29 | 59.4 | 61.3 |
1992 | 122,375,179 | 5,146,942 | 1,290,628 | 3,856,314 | 41.8 | 10.5 | 31.3 | 103.9 | 6.21 | 59.6 | 60.7 |
1993 | 125,546,615 | 5,116,844 | 1,309,418 | 3,807,426 | 40.8 | 10.4 | 30.3 | 101.7 | 6.11 | 59.6 | 60.4 |
1994 | 129,245,139 | 5,188,381 | 1,321,834 | 3,866,547 | 40.1 | 10.2 | 29.9 | 99.5 | 6.01 | 59.7 | 60.6 |
1995 | 133,117,476 | 5,214,150 | 1,355,586 | 3,858,564 | 39.2 | 10.2 | 29.0 | 97.2 | 5.89 | 59.5 | 60.4 |
1996 | 137,234,810 | 5,283,367 | 1,351,457 | 3,931,910 | 38.5 | 9.9 | 28.7 | 94.7 | 5.77 | 59.9 | 61.1 |
1997 | 141,330,267 | 5,323,160 | 1,363,688 | 3,959,472 | 37.7 | 9.7 | 28.0 | 92.3 | 5.64 | 59.9 | 61.5 |
1998 | 145,476,106 | 5,391,873 | 1,360,060 | 4,031,813 | 37.1 | 9.4 | 27.7 | 89.9 | 5.51 | 60.2 | 62.1 |
1999 | 149,694,462 | 5,457,820 | 1,350,165 | 4,107,655 | 36.5 | 9.0 | 27.5 | 87.5 | 5.39 | 60.8 | 62.8 |
2000 | 154,369,924 | 5,503,880 | 1,349,760 | 4,154,120 | 35.8 | 8.8 | 27.0 | 85.3 | 5.26 | 61.2 | 63.1 |
2001 | 159,217,727 | 5,621,718 | 1,365,265 | 4,256,453 | 35.3 | 8.6 | 26.8 | 83.3 | 5.12 | 61.4 | 63.6 |
2002 | 163,262,807 | 5,707,878 | 1,383,913 | 4,323,965 | 34.9 | 8.5 | 26.4 | 81.5 | 5.01 | 61.7 | 63.7 |
2003 | 166,876,680 | 5,705,869 | 1,389,323 | 4,316,546 | 34.1 | 8.3 | 25.8 | 79.8 | 4.88 | 61.9 | 64.0 |
2004 | 170,648,620 | 5,728,041 | 1,397,637 | 4,330,404 | 33.5 | 8.2 | 25.3 | 78.4 | 4.75 | 61.9 | 64.4 |
2005 | 174,372,098 | 5,741,665 | 1,467,794 | 4,273,871 | 32.9 | 8.4 | 24.5 | 77.9 | 4.64 | 61.2 | 64.0 |
2006 | 178,069,984 | 5,780,328 | 1,397,071 | 4,383,257 | 32.4 | 7.8 | 24.6 | 75.7 | 4.53 | 62.1 | 65.7 |
2007 | 181,924,521 | 5,939,254 | 1,421,100 | 4,518,154 | 32.6 | 7.8 | 24.8 | 74.5 | 4.51 | 61.9 | 66.1 |
2008 | 185,931,955 | 6,026,112 | 1,440,035 | 4,586,077 | 32.4 | 7.7 | 24.6 | 73.1 | 4.43 | 61.9 | 66.5 |
2009 | 190,123,222 | 6,126,953 | 1,466,094 | 4,660,859 | 32.2 | 7.7 | 24.5 | 71.8 | 4.36 | 62.1 | 66.5 |
2010 | 194,454,498 | 6,251,649 | 1,479,575 | 4,772,074 | 32.1 | 7.6 | 24.5 | 70.5 | 4.30 | 62.3 | 66.9 |
2011 | 198,602,738 | 6,344,791 | 1,497,860 | 4,846,931 | 31.9 | 7.5 | 24.3 | 68.8 | 4.23 | 62.5 | 67.1 |
2012 | 202,205,861 | 6,416,601 | 1,518,663 | 4,897,938 | 31.6 | 7.5 | 24.1 | 67.1 | 4.17 | 62.7 | 67.2 |
2013 | 205,337,562 | 6,432,644 | 1,512,911 | 4,919,733 | 31.2 | 7.3 | 23.8 | 65.5 | 4.11 | 63.0 | 67.6 |
2014 | 208,251,628 | 6,374,716 | 1,522,217 | 4,852,499 | 30.5 | 7.3 | 23.2 | 63.8 | 4.01 | 63.1 | 67.7 |
2015 | 210,969,298 | 6,297,466 | 1,504,820 | 4,792,646 | 29.7 | 7.1 | 22.6 | 62.1 | 3.90 | 63.5 | 68.2 |
2016 | 213,524,840 | 6,291,208 | 1,510,500 | 4,780,708 | 29.3 | 7.0 | 22.3 | 60.4 | 3.83 | 63.7 | 68.3 |
2017 | 216,379,655 | 6,289,965 | 1,496,276 | 4,793,689 | 29.0 | 6.9 | 22.1 | 58.8 | 3.76 | 64.0 | 68.8 |
2018 | 219,731,479 | 6,302,081 | 1,508,129 | 4,793,952 | 28.6 | 6.8 | 21.8 | 57.1 | 3.69 | 64.2 | 69.0 |
2019 | 223,293,280 | 6,330,933 | 1,514,600 | 4,816,333 | 28.3 | 6.8 | 21.5 | 55.5 | 3.62 | 64.6 | 69.1 |
2020 | 227,196,741 | 6,362,705 | 1,606,293 | 4,756,412 | 28.0 | 7.1 | 20.9 | 53.9 | 3.56 | 63.9 | 68.8 |
2021 | 231,402,117 | 6,374,741 | 1,660,400 | 4,714,341 | 27.5 | 7.2 | 20.4 | 52.3 | 3.47 | 63.8 | 68.6 |
Pakistan's Human Development Index (HDI) value for 2018 is in the medium human development category with a score of 0.560 (152nd rank out of 189 countries and territories) compared to 0.614 (135th rank) for Bangladesh and 0.647 (129th rank) for India. From 1990 to 2018, Pakistan's HDI increased 38.6% from 0.404 to 0.560. [35] [36]
2018 Information on Pakistani provinces/regions, compared to other countries, estimated at three decimal places is provided below: [37]
Rank | Region | HDI (2018) [37] |
---|---|---|
Medium human development | ||
1 | Islamabad Capital Territory | 0.875 |
2 | Azad Jammu & Kashmir | 0.611 |
3 | Gilgit-Baltistan | 0.593 |
4 | Punjab | 0.567 |
– | Pakistan (average) | 0.561 |
Low human development | ||
5 | Sindh | 0.533 |
6 | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 0.529 |
7 | Balochistan | 0.477 |
8 | FATA | 0.466 |
definition: aged 10 and over with the "Ability to read and understand simple text in any language from a newspaper or magazine, write a simple letter and perform basic mathematical calculation (ie, counting and addition/subtraction)." as of 2018 [38]
Total population | 62.3% |
Male | 72.5% |
Female | 51.8% |
The major ethnolinguistic groups of Pakistan include Punjabis, Pashtuns, [42] [43] Sindhis, Saraikis, Muhajirs, Balochs, Paharis [note 1] [note 2] and Brahuis, [44] [note 3] with significant numbers of Kashmiris, Chitralis, Shina, Baltis, Kohistanis, Torwalis, Hazaras, Burusho, Wakhis, Kalash, Siddis and other various minorities. [45] [46]
Pakistan's census does not include the 1.4 million citizens of Afghanistan who are temporarily residing in Pakistan. [47] [48] [49] Majority of them were born in Pakistan within the last four decades and are ethnically Pashtuns, Tajiks, Uzbeks and others. [50]
After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, many Muslims from India migrated to Pakistan and they are the largest group of foreign-born residents. This group is dwindling because of its age. The second-largest group of foreign-born residents consists of refugees from Afghanistan who are expected to leave Pakistan by the end of 2018. [51] There are also smaller groups of Muslim immigrants from countries such as Burma, Bangladesh, Iraq, Somalia, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, among others.[ citation needed ]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [52] | Mostly those born before 1947 |
Rank | Language | 2017 census | 1998 census | 1981 census | 1961 census | 1951 census |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Punjabi* | 38.78% | 44.15% | 48.17% | 56.39% | 57.08% |
2 | Pashto | 18.24% | 14.42% | 13.35% | 8.47% | 8.16% |
3 | Sindhi | 14.57% | 14.1% | 12.7% | 12.59% | 12.85% |
4 | Saraiki* | 12.19% | 10.53% | 9.54% | ||
5 | Urdu | 7.08% | 7.57% | 7.60% | 7.57% | 7.05% |
6 | Balochi | 3.02% | 3.57% | 3.02% | 2.49% | 3.04% |
7 | Others | 6.12% | 4.66% | 5.62% | 12.49% | 11.82% |
Pakistan is a multilingual country with dozens of languages spoken as first languages. [54] [55] The majority Pakistan's languages belong to the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European language family. [56] [57]
Urdu is the national language and the lingua franca of Pakistan, and while sharing official status with English, it is the preferred and dominant language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups. [54] [55] Numerous regional languages are spoken as first languages by Pakistan's various ethnolinguistic groups. Languages with more than a million speakers each include Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, Pahari-Pothwari [note 2] and Brahui. [9]
Ethnologue lists 74 languages in Pakistan. Of these, 66 are indigenous and 8 are non-indigenous. In terms of their vitality, 7 are classified as 'institutional', 17 are 'developing', 37 are 'vigorous', 10 are 'in trouble', and 3 are 'dying'. [58]
Urdu (اردو) is the national language (قومی زبان) and lingua franca of Pakistan. [59] Although only about 7% of Pakistanis speak it as their first language, it is widely spoken and understood as a second language by the vast majority of Pakistanis. [60] [61]
No region in Pakistan uses Urdu as its mother tongue, though it is spoken as the first language of Muslim migrants (known as Muhajirs) in Pakistan who left India after independence in 1947. [62] Urdu was chosen as a symbol of unity for the new state of Pakistan in 1947, because it had already served as a lingua franca among Muslims in north and northwest British India. [63] It is written, spoken and used in all provinces/territories of Pakistan, and together with English as the main languages of instruction, [64] although the people from differing provinces may have different native languages. [65]
Urdu is taught as a compulsory subject up to higher secondary school in both English and Urdu medium school systems, which has produced millions of second-language Urdu speakers among people whose native language is one of the other languages of Pakistan – which in turn has led to the absorption of vocabulary from various regional Pakistani languages, [66] while some Urdu vocabularies has also been assimilated by Pakistan's regional languages. [67] [68]
Punjabi (پنجابی) is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan. It is spoken as a first language by almost 39% of Pakistanis. [69] It is the 11th most widely spoken language in India, and the third most-spoken native language in the Indian Subcontinent. The language is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and the broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone. [70]
Pashto (پښتو) is an Iranian language spoken as a first language by more than 18% of Pakistanis, mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in northern Balochistan as well as in ethnic Pashtun communities in the cities of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and most notably Karachi, [71] [72] [73] [74] which may have the largest Pashtun population of any city in the world. [75]
There are three major dialect patterns within which the various individual dialects may be classified; these are Pakhto, which is the Northern (Peshawar) variety, and the softer Pashto spoken in the southern areas such as in Quetta.
Sindhi (سنڌي) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken as a first language by almost 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The name "Sindhi" is derived from Sindhu, the original name of the Indus River. [76]
Like other languages of this family, Sindhi has passed through Old Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) and Middle Indo-Aryan (Pali, secondary Prakrits, and Apabhramsha) stages of growth. 20th century Western scholars such as George Abraham Grierson believed that Sindhi descended specifically from the Vrācaḍa dialect of Apabhramsha (described by Markandeya as being spoken in Sindhu-deśa) but later work has shown this to be unlikely. [77] It entered the New Indo-Aryan stage around the 10th century CE. [78] [79]
Saraiki (سرائیکی) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Lahnda group, spoken in central and southeastern Pakistan, primarily in the southern part of the province of Punjab. Saraiki is to a high degree mutually intelligible with Standard Punjabi [80] [81] and shares with it a large portion of its vocabulary and morphology. At the same time in its phonology it is radically different [82] (particularly in the lack of tones, the preservation of the voiced aspirates and the development of implosive consonants), and has important grammatical features in common with the Sindhi language spoken to the south. [80]
Saraiki is the language of about 26 million people in Pakistan, ranging across southern Punjab, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and border regions of northern Sindh and eastern Balochistan. [83]
Balochi (بلوچی) is an Iranian language spoken as a first language by about 3% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Balochistan province. Rakshani is the major dialect group in terms of numbers. Sarhaddi is a sub-dialect of Rakshani. Other sub-dialects are Kalati (Qalati), Chagai-Kharani and Panjguri. Eastern Hill Balochi or Northern Balochi is very different from the rest.
Hindko (ہندکو) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken in several discontinuous areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Hindko is mutually intelligible with Punjabi and Saraiki, [84] and has more affinities with the latter than with the former. [85] Differences with other Punjabi varieties are more pronounced in the morphology and phonology than in the syntax. [86] The word Hindko, commonly used to refer to a number of Indo-Aryan dialects spoken in the neighbourhood of Pashto, likely originally meant "the Indian language" (in contrast to Pashto). [87] An alternative local name for this language group is Hindki. [88] [note 4]
Brahui (براھوی) is a Dravidian language which is spoken in the central part of Balochistan province. Brahui is spoken in the central part of Pakistani Balochistan, mainly in Kalat, Khuzdar and Mastung districts, but also in smaller numbers in neighbouring districts, as well as in Afghanistan which borders Pakistani Balochistan; however, many members of the ethnic group no longer speak Brahui. [89]
Other languages spoken by linguistic minorities include the languages listed below, with speakers ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands. A few are highly endangered languages that may soon have no speakers at all. [90] The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization defines five levels of language endangerment between "safe" (not endangered) and "extinct": [91]
The list below includes the findings from the third edition of Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010; formerly the Red Book of Endangered Languages), as well as the online edition of the aforementioned publication, both published by UNESCO. [92]
Language | Status | Comments | ISO 639–3 |
---|---|---|---|
Balti language | Vulnerable [91] | Also spoken in: India | bft |
Bashkarik language | Definitely endangered [91] | gwc, xka | |
Badeshi language | Critically endangered [91] | bdz | |
Bateri language | Definitely endangered [91] | btv | |
Bhadravahi language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: India | bhd |
Brahui language | Vulnerable [91] | Also spoken in: Afghanistan | brh |
Burushaski language | Vulnerable [91] | bsk | |
Chilisso language | Severely endangered [91] | clh | |
Dameli language | Severely endangered [91] | dml | |
Domaaki language | Severely endangered [91] | dmk | |
Gawar-Bati language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: Afghanistan | gwt |
Gowro language | Severely endangered [91] | gwf | |
Jad language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: India | jda |
Kalasha language | Severely endangered [91] | Not to be confused with Kalasha-ala language | kls |
Kalkoti language | Severely endangered [91] | ||
Kamkata-vari language, Kata-vari dialect, Kamviri dialect | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: Afghanistan | bsh, xvi |
Khowar language | Vulnerable [91] | khw | |
Kundal Shahi language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: India | |
Maiya language | Vulnerable [91] | mvy | |
Ormuri language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: Afghanistan | oru |
Phalura language | Definitely endangered [91] | phl | |
Purik language | Vulnerable [91] | Also spoken in: India | prx |
Savi language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: Afghanistan | sdg |
Spiti language | Vulnerable [91] | Also spoken in: India | spt |
Torwali language | Definitely endangered [91] | trw | |
Ushojo language | Definitely endangered [91] | ush | |
Wakhi language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: China, Tajikistan, Afghanistan | wbl |
Yidgha language | Definitely endangered [91] | ydg | |
Zangskari language | Definitely endangered [91] | Also spoken in: India | zau |
According to the World Factbook, Library of Congress, Oxford University, over 96% of the population of Pakistan is Muslim and the remaining 4% is Hindu, Christian, and others. [94] [95] [96] Majority of the Muslims practice Sunni with a significant minority of Shi'as.
Nearly all Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school, although there are some Hanbalis and Ahl-e-Hadees. The majority of Shia Muslims belong to the Ithnā'Ashariyyah branch, [94] while a smaller number practice Ismailism. There are small non-Muslim religious groups, including Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Baháʼís and Zoroastrians (Parsis), [97]
Religion | Population |
---|---|
Muslims | 200,362,718 |
Hindus | 4,444,870 |
Christians | 2,642,048 |
Ahmadiyya | 191,737 |
All Others [lower-alpha 1] | 43,253 |
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released religious data of Pakistan Census 2017 on 19 May 2021. [98] 96.47% are Muslims, followed by 2.14% Hindus, 1.27% Christians, 0.09% Ahmadis and 0.02% others.
The 2017 census showed marginal increase in the share of Hindus.The census also recorded Pakistan's first Hindu-majority district, called Umerkot District.
On the other hand, Christianity in Pakistan, while increasing in raw numbers, has fallen significantly in percentage terms since the last census. Christians are concentrated in the most developed parts of Pakistan, Lahore District (over 5% Christian), Islamabad Capital Territory (over 4% Christian), and Northern Punjab.
The Ahmadiyya movement shrunk in size (both raw numbers and percentage) between 1998 and 2017, while remaining concentrated in Lalian Tehsil, Chiniot District, where approximately 13% of the population is Ahmadiyya.
Saudi Arabia | 4,000,000 |
United Arab Emirates | 1,600,000 |
United Kingdom | 1,200,000 |
United States | 687,942 [99] |
Canada | 215,000 [100] |
Kuwait | 190,000 |
South Africa | 180,000 [101] |
Oman | 385,000 |
Australia | 61,913 [102] |
Germany | 179,668 |
Qatar | 52,500 |
France | 50,000 |
Norway | 39,257 [103] |
Denmark | 21,000 |
New Zealand | 10,000 |
Ireland | 9,501 |
Japan | 22,118 [104] |
Azad Jammu and Kashmir abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entity and constituting the western portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947. Azad Kashmir also shares borders with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the south and west, respectively. On its eastern side, Azad Kashmir is separated from the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir by the Line of Control (LoC), which serves as the de facto border between the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir. Geographically, it covers a total area of 13,297 km2 (5,134 sq mi) and has a total population of 4,045,366 as per the 2017 national census.
Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, spoken predominantly by the Punjabi people. With approximately 148 million native speakers, it is the eighth most spoken native language in the world. It also has a few million additional speakers which, along with native speakers, makes it the twelfth most spoken language by the total number of speakers in the world.
Pakistan is a multilingual country with over 70 languages spoken as first languages. The majority of Pakistan's languages belong to the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European language family.
Saraiki is an Indo-Aryan language of the Lahnda group, spoken by 26 million people primarily in the south-western half of the province of Punjab in Pakistan. It was previously known as Multani, after its main dialect.
Abbottabad District is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is part of the Hazara Division and Hazara region covers an area of 1,969 km2, with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town. Neighbouring districts include Mansehra to the north and Haripur to the west in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muzaffarabad to the east in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Rawalpindi to the south in the Punjab province.
Mansehra District is a district in the Hazara Division, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. Mansehra city serves as the headquarters of the district.
Pahari-Pothwari is an Indo-Aryan language variety of Lahnda group, spoken on the Pothohar Plateau in the far north of Punjab, Pakistan, as well as in most of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir and in western areas of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, is known by a variety of names, the most common of which are Pahari, and Pothwari.
The Muzaffarabad District is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is one of the 10 districts of this dependent territory. The district is located on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers and is very hilly. The total area of the Muzaffarabad District is 1,642 square kilometres (634 sq mi). The district is part of the Muzaffarabad Division, and the city of Muzaffarabad serves as the capital of Azad Kashmir. The district is bounded on the north-east by the Neelum District and the Kupwara District of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir region, on the south-east by the Hattian Bala District, on the south by the Bagh District, and on the west by the Mansehra and Abbottabad districts of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Shina is a Dardic language of Indo-Aryan language family spoken by the Shina people. In Pakistan, Shina is the major language in Gilgit-Baltistan spoken by an estimated 1,146,000 people living mainly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan. A small community of Shina speakers is also found in India, in the Guraiz valley of Jammu and Kashmir and in Dras valley of Ladakh. Outliers of Shina language such as Brokskat are found in Ladakh, Kundal Shahi in Azad Kashmir, Palula and Sawi in Chitral, Ushojo in the Swat Valley and Kalkoti in Dir.
Attock District is a district in Pothohar Plateau of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Its capital is Attock city.
Lahnda, also known as Lahndi or Western Punjabi, is a group of north-western Indo-Aryan language varieties spoken in parts of Pakistan and India. It is defined in the ISO 639 standard as a "macrolanguage" or as a "series of dialects" by other authors. Its validity as a genetic grouping is not certain. The terms "Lahnda" and "Western Punjabi" are exonyms employed by linguists, and are not used by the speakers themselves.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Pakistan:
Neelum is a district of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is the northernmost of 10 districts located within the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Kashmir. Taking up the larger part of the Neelum Valley, the district had a population of around 191,000 people. It was among the worst-hit areas of Pakistan during the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
The Punjabi dialects and languages or Greater Panjabic are a series of dialects and languages spoken around the Punjab region of Pakistan and India with varying degrees of official recognition. They have sometimes been referred to as the Greater Punjabi macrolanguage. Punjabi may also be considered as a pluricentric language with more than one standard variety.
Pakistan is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country. The major Pakistani ethnolinguistic groups include Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Balochs, and Brahuis. with significant numbers of Baltis, Kashmiris, Chitralis, Shina, Kohistanis, Torwalis, Hazaras, Burusho, Wakhis, Kalash, Siddis, Uzbeks, Nuristanis, Pamiris, Hindkowans, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uyghurs and other various minorities.
Pakistanis are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the world's fifth-most populous country. The majority of Pakistanis natively speak languages belonging to the Indo-Iranic family.
Islamabad had an estimated population of 1,014,825 according to the 2017 Census.
Thaḷī is a Western Saraiki dialect spoken in parts of the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has a widespread area, starting from Tank to Muzzafargarh on the eastern end of the Indus River and from Bannu running down to D I khan at the western end of the Indus River. It is classified as a northern dialect of Saraiki, although it has also been described as transitional between Shahpuri and the central Saraiki Multani dialect. Its name derives from the Thal Desert.
The 2017 Census of Pakistan was a detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population which began on 15 March 2017 and ended on 25 May 2017. It was the first census taken in the country in the 21st century, nineteen years after the previous one in 1998, and it was carried out by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
Jatki/Jattki bascically means the language or dielect of Panjabi Jats of Bar region
The Gujjar or Gurjar are an ethnic group in India and Pakistan. Alternative spellings include Gurjara, Gujjar and Goojar. The Gujjars follow Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. The Hindu Gujjars belong to the traditional Kshatriya Varna in Hinduism, while the Muslim Gujjars are considered to be a Potwari race in India and Pakistan
Gujjar: multi-religious, 'martial' ethnic group in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Modern Standard Urdu, a register of the Hindustani language, is the national language, lingua-franca and is one of the two official languages along with English in Pakistan and is spoken in all over the world. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages and officially recognized languages in the Constitution of India and has been conferred the status of the official language in many Indian states of Bihar, Telangana, Jammu, and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and New Delhi. Urdu is one of the members of the new or modern Indo-Aryan language group within the Indo-European family of languages.
English has been the main language of instruction at the elementary and secondary levels since colonial times. It remains the predominant language of instruction in private schools but has been increasingly replaced with Urdu in public schools. Punjab province, for example, recently announced that it will begin to use Urdu as the exclusive medium of instruction in schools beginning in 2020. Depending on the location and predominantly in rural areas, regional languages are used as well, particularly in elementary education. The language of instruction in higher education is mostly English, but some programs and institutions teach in Urdu.
Approximately 97 percent of Pakistanis are Muslim. The majority are Sunnis following the Hanafi school of Islamic law. Between 20 and 25 percent are Shias, mostly Twelvers.
Religion: The overwhelming majority of the population (96 percent) is Muslim, of whom approximately 75 percent are Sunni and 25 percent Shi'a.
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